Change
by Kyraillion
Summary: Generation One series: An accident in the lab causes a change to awaken within Ratchet. RatchetXWheeljack


**Change**

Ratchet placed a skilled, red hand under the mech's arm, gently guiding him the orange Med Bay table.

"What happened this time?" The COM's gruff voice stood in stark contrast to the comforting touch Wheeljack felt on the metal plating of his arm. His voice processor let out a scratchy and painful whir. Unable to answer audibly, Wheeljack opened his external comlink channel.

"Explosion in the lab," he transmitted. "The twins interrupted my experiments with gun powder. When they came in, I lost my concentration, and well, you see the result before you."

Slightly embarrassed by the frequency of such explosions, Wheeljack decided to just lay back and wait for the torture of repairs to be done. Slowly he eased himself onto the table. The damaged Autobot winced as bare circuits touched cold metal. His vocal processor emitted a sharp, scrapping whine at the contact.

Ratchet immediately turned away from the diagnostics equipment he had been preparing. "What is it Wheeljack?" he asked in his well-trained and smooth medic's voice.

"Raw circuits on my backside," Wheeljack silently transmitted as he attempted to shift his weight off of his injuries.

Ratchet dropped his data pad on the counter and went to Wheeljack's aid. Watching Wheeljack struggle brought a harsh pain to his spark. Try as hard as he might, he couldn't be angry at his favorite 'mad scientist'.

Placing surprisingly tender hands under Wheeljack's arms, Ratchet helped to maneuver the Autobot engineer into a more comfortable position. "Jack," he whispered, watching his patient's resonator panels darken a touch at the more personal address. Slowly reaching out, Ratchet took a steady, red finger and gently whiped the smudged soot out of the corner of Wheeljack's optics.

"I know, Doc, I'm sorry," Ratchet's internal transmitter picked up the message as Wheeljack stared intently at the floor. "I know how busy you are. I didn't mean to give you more work to do by fixing me. Please don't yell at me like you always do. It hurts enough without that."

The red and white medic drew in a discordant intake of air. Yell at Wheeljack? Sure, he did that often... but never when he was this badly damaged. When the smaller engineer had stumbled his way into Ratchet's office, the grumpy old medic didn't believe he was capable of fixing his ever-curious and often destructive friend. For just an astrosecond, Ratchet had feared Wheeljack's experiments had finally caught up with him. Fortunately the explosive residue had left Wheeljack looking in worse shape than he really was. A quick scan was all it took to confirm that Wheeljack would survive.

Still, such a shock was all it took to force a realization in Ratchet. The old medic had barely had enough time to register the thought of life without the clumsy inventor before something in him inexplicably changed.

Looking at Wheeljack, Ratchet made a decision. Without Wheeljack, his existence would lose a great deal of its meaning. He didn't know when it had happened, but somehow, somewhere along the way, he had fallen in love with his co-worker.

"Jack," he whispered once more, softening his tone as he lowered himself by the Med table. He crouched by Wheeljack's less injured side and placed a hand lightly behind his love's head. "Please,... don't ever scare me like that again," he sighed, barely audible, the intensity of his request blazing in cerulean optics.

Wheeljack's panels flashed from dull grey to brilliant cyan blue as Ratchet lightly kissed him. His vocal apparatus crackled, trying to for the words he so longed to say.

"Hush," Ratchet continued to whisper, placing a finger lightly against Wheeljack's steel lips, silencing his efforts of speech instantly. "I had to find a time when you wouldn't argue at me and convince me otherwise," he chuckled. "Let's get you fixed now. I have my work cut out for me today."

Ratchet caught his mistake at once. "No, not with repairs," he amended. "I have to finish up with you so that I can find those twins. And when I do," Ratchet's voice piqued with surprised anger, "they'll know never to mess with my future bondmate again."

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! This is really my first experience with writing a G1 fic, and doing anything with Ratchet and Wheeljack. I really love the idea of such a pair. Anyway, go review! Tell me what you think, please!


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